Joconde II
1996
Medium
nylon stocking, oil on composition board
Measurements
23.2 × 21.6 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Margaret Stewart Endowment, 1996
© Vera Möller/Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
La Joconde is the French title for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa, c. 1503–06 (The Louvre, Paris). The word is a play on the surname of the subject, Lisa del Giocondo, which is similar to the Italian word gioconda, meaning jocund or joyous, and refers to her enigmatic smile. The reckless irreverence of Vera Möller’s work is achieved by stretching women’s stockings over board, suggesting a refusal to adhere to women’s traditional reserved and polite demeanour. By invoking the wry smile of the Mona Lisa, Möller suggests that women have always used humour and subtle subversion to resist oppression.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria
Accession Number
DC19-1996
Department
Contemporary Art